Teens of Mineral Town
by Ann Fan
Summary: Years after Popuri's return, Mineral Town is still going strong. But now, most of the next kids of the next generation are teenagers. Danny, Nikki, and many others have finally reached that age. This is a sequel to Unwanted. Please R & R. Chapter one is u


Hello from Ann Fan! As I mentioned in the summary, this is a sequel to _Unwanted. _This story picks up about nine years after _Unwanted_ ended. Most of the kids of the next generation of Mineral Town are now teenagers aging from sixteen to eighteen (a rough estimate). Now, this story will be different from _Unwanted_ in the way that it's written. Although Danny will still be a major character in the story, it will include various things involving the rest of the generation although it will still be mainly centered on Danny and his family. For those of you if any, who haven't read _Unwanted_, I'm including a list of the Mineral Town kids and their parents. The key is child - parents - age (in the beginning of the story) Note: I've added a few kids to Stu and May's "brood."

Danny - Kai and Popuri - 17

Nikki - Rick and Karen - 16

Roy - Rick and Karen - 9

Mitch - Jack and Ann - 18

Jackie - Jack and Ann - 16

Jared - Doctor Tim and Elli - 17

Emily - Doctor Tim and Elli - 16

Aaron - Gray and Mary - 17

Michelle - Gray and Mary - 16

Adell - Stu and May - 9

Joey - Stu and May - 6

Stu Jr. - Stu and May - 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon, Natsume does!

Okay, now I'll get to the story.

**Teens of Mineral Town**

Chapter One-Changes

Danny kicked around at the dust, waiting once again for his cousins to get ready for school. Yes, they still walked to school together. Danny and Nikki had walked to school together ever since they were little kids and it just sticked so they never quit doing it. Then when little Roy was old enough to go to school, he joined his older sister and cousin.

Nikki hadn't changed a bit from her younger years, except for her looks. She'd inherited beautiful, long, blond hair from her mother, Karen's side, and it rested upon her slim shoulders like golden strands of sun. She'd also grown a bit taller, and went wild on makeup, which was most of the reason that she took so long to get ready. But her attitude hadn't changed at all. She was still as outspoken as ever (just like her mother) and still under the charmer, Aaron's spell.

Little Roy, as everyone called him since he was the baby of the family, had grown up so fast. To Danny, it seemed that he'd just come home from the hospital yesterday. He was rather outgoing and had sandy colored hair, a mix of his father's orange hair and his mother's blond strands. Idolizing his father, Rick and Cousin Danny, he had it all planned out in his nine-year-old mind that he would take over the family poultry business. Everyone chuckled at the young boy's ambitious thoughts.

And Danny, well, he was still the same old shy, kindhearted boy that he'd always been. His life had taken an amazing turn for the better when his mother, Popuri returned. She'd left him when he was a baby, and he'd grown up without parents for about eight years. But after a frightening encounter with his disturbed father, Kai, his mother had returned to Mineral Town and had been raising him at the Poultry Farm along with her brother and his family ever since. His appearance hadn't changed much either. Those same stubborn clumps of pink remained unmanageable to comb and his guant frame still persisted. Although he'd grown taller, his attitude still remained.

The Poultry Farm itself had undergoed quite a bit of remodeling. Gotz the woodcutter and builder had extended the chicken coop so that it held more chickens, and this was a key to the farm's recent success. The farmhouse had also been annexed because of the lack of rooms for the children. It now had two additional rooms as well as the open loft that Rick, Karen, and Popuri slept in. Nikki fortunately got one room all to herself while Danny and Roy shared a room, but neither Danny nor Roy minded sharing the room. Rick, Karen, Popuri, Danny, Nikki, and Roy were the only ones residing on the farm now. A few years back, Lillia's illness had taken a turn for the worse, and Doctor Tim strongly advised her to move to a location that had more "disease friendly" weather. So she took his advice and moved away; although, she wrote her family in Mineral Town quite often.

"You about ready, Nikki?" Danny yelled up to her open bedroom window. There was no reply, but Roy quickly came rushing up to Danny.

"I'm ready, Danny," he proclaimed with a beaming grin. Danny returned the smile and patted his little cousin's head. "Nikki sure does take a long time, huh?"

"Yeah, she does at that."

"Yeah, and she's always talking about Aaron." Roy then made a funny face that was supposed to infer that it was "gross" that his sister liked a boy. "She's crazy!" Finally, after about fifteen minutes, Nikki emerged from the farmhouse with a cute dress on and makeup lightly powdered on her face. Danny hated to admit it sometimes, but she caught him off guard with her beauty often.

"Let's go," she ordered with a smile. Danny was glad to finally be on his way. All three headed to the church, which had also undergoed some changes. The church was still used for school, but only for grades 1st through 6th (of course the only ones in town who attended it now were Adell and Roy) and an additional building had been built for grades 7th through 12th. Miss Dalton, an old maid now, taught the younger children while a new teacher, Mr. Jody, had been hired to teach the teens.

"Bye Danny!" Roy exclaimed as he entered the church. Danny responded with a wave. Then he and Nikki proceeded to the school building.

Mr. Jody was in his late thirties, but he still looked rather handsome for his age. He was an exellent teacher and actually made learning fun by mixing humor and firsthand experiences to teach. All the students liked him.

"Awake there, Mitch?" he questioned, tapping Mitch on the shoulder with his ruler. Mitch instantly sat up in his seat and assured Mr. Jody that he was.

Aaron was still the class troublemaker, but he'd matured from paper airplanes and had recently taken up "attempting" to humiliate Mr. Jody. He'd ask what he considered "hard questions," but every time, Mr. Jody found some way to backfire the question on Aaron. In the end, Aaron was usually the humiliated one.

It was spring, and in spring, the school days seemed to just drag on. It was like school taunted them by keeping them from getting out quick for summer break. But then after the school day would end, the free time just wizzed past. It happened every spring, but it always managed to get on the kids' nerves.

Somehow, Danny and Nikki survived another protracted day of school. It was at this time that everyone would follow his or her separate path. Roy always rushed home as soon as he could to feed the chickens and Nikki usually headed to the beach to flirt with Aaron. Danny on the other hand, usually headed over to the library to hang out with Michelle.

Michelle had changed very little from the shy, unconfident girl she was when she was little. She appeared very reserved and demure, but Danny knew her better than anybody. Michelle, unlike the others in Mineral Town, was rather smart, and was a straight A student. When Mary looked at her daughter, she saw a carbon copy of herself. It was true; Michelle's personality was directly mirrored from her mother's. Michelle was the complete opposite of her flashy brother Aaron just like Danny was the complete opposite of Nikki. Danny and Michelle were definitley two peas in a pod.

"Hey Danny," Michelle expressed in a quiet tone, "My mother finished another novel. Ya' want to read it?"

"Sure!" Danny replied with enthusiasm. They immediately sat down at Mary's desk and began to read through the book. They spent the rest of the afternoon finishing it.

----

Meanwhile on the beach, Nikki sat, gazing at the waves, waiting for Aaron to arrive at the beach.

"Hey Nikki," a confident voice rang from behind her. "What's up?" Nikki rose from her sitting position and blushed a deep shade of red.

"Uuhhh, nothing," she replied at a loss for words.

"Well, I've been thinking…"

"Yeah?"

"We've known each other for quite a long time…"

"Yes?"

"And I kinda' wanted to ask you if…"

"Huh?"

"…Do you want to go steady with me?" he shot at her like a bullet.

"Really?"

"Why not?"

"Well I'd…I'd love to!"

"Great!" He then slipped a dainty ring on one of her slender fingers.

"By the way, my dad helped me make that ring. Well, I gotta' go, but I'll see ya' later."

"Yeah…later." Nikki was dancing into one of those dreamy phases again. She felt like she was ten feet off the ground and floating on air. One of those teenage girl squeals escaped her lips afterwards.

----

After reading Mary's elaborate novel with Michelle, Danny stretched his legs and began to say something to Michelle.

"Well," he began, "I have to go. I promised May that I'd babysit tonight."

"Thanks for stopping by," Michelle cordially thanked her friend. "I'll see you at school tomorrow then?"

"Uh…yeah."

"Well, bye Danny."

"Yeah…bye." After he exited the library, he shook his head, wondering what had happened in there. When Michelle thanked him, the strangest feeling grasped hold of him. It was a warm feeling yet it made him feel a bit edgy. I've never felt that way around Michelle before, he pondered to himself. But the thought soon escaped his mind when he stopped in front of the door to the Yodel Ranch. Because he was such a regular visitor, he never had to knock.

"Hi Danny," May greeted him with a chipper smile. "Come on in."

"So," Danny playfully added as he made his way inside, "I presume that you and Stu have plans for tonight?"

"As a matter of fact, we do!" she replied, playing along. Then, all of a sudden a joyful cry broke out in the room.

"Uncle Danny!" little Joey's voice chimed. Of course Danny wasn't technically their uncle, but all of Stu and May's kids had graciously granted him the title. "Uncle Danny!" A grin swept across the little boy's face as Danny playfully hoisted him onto his shoulders.

"How ya' doin,'Joey?" Danny asked his little "nephew."

"Just great!" Just then, nine-year-old Adell walked onto the scene.

"Uncle Danny, your little cousin, Roy is so silly," she stated with a giggle.

"Why is that?" Danny questioned her, bending down to his godchild's level of stature.

"All he ever does is talk about chickens!" Danny let out a jaunty laugh as he toussled her jet-black hair.

"So," Stu began, walking into the room with four-year-old Stu Jr. in his arms, "is everything set?"

"I believe so," Danny inquired with another bright smile. "I can handle everything. Now you two go on." Offering profuse "thank you's," Stu and May made their way out of the farmhouse with appreciative grins on their faces.

May and Stu hadn't changed too much, but Yodel Ranch had. Sadly, old Barley's body had given out a few years back, and he now rested in the cemetery beside the church. This saddening event left Stu and May to run the ranch on their own. Stu had adjusted well to farm life though and was a great rancher now. The farmhouse had also been annexed like many of the buildings in Mineral Town, and it now had an open living roomto the right of the kitchen area. They'd also ordered a television, which sat in the heart of the living room.

So after Stu and May left, Danny had lots of work to see to. First, he layed Stu Jr. down for a nap and then he, Adell, and Joey cleaned dishes. Next, they all went into the living room to watch a movie, which was the easiest part of the job for Danny. When the movie finished, Joey was dozing on the couch, and Adell was sharing small talk with her godfather, Danny. Stu and May returned home not long after the movie, and Danny finally returned home after the long day.

"I'm home!" he announced, stepping through the door.

"Oh, hi son," Popuri answered his call.

"Whew, I'm bushed."

"Well, you'd better get your rest. It'll be another _long_ day tomorrow." She cracked one of her delicate grins and kissed her son on the cheek.

"_Mom_!" He _was_ like every teenager in the way that his mother embarrassed him often.

"Goodnight son."

"'Night Mom." Shaking his head in that way that showed he was a bit annoyed, he headed up to the room he shared with his cousin. He entered to find that Roy was already fast asleep in the top bunk of the bunk bed that they also shared. Laying his tired body down to sleep, he smiled to himself. How glad he was to have a loving family now.

----

Well, that's the first chapter I have for you. Hope you liked it. Please R & R. Thanks!


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